Awards Nomination due date will be updated soon, please check back

Award Criteria

E. B Whitten Silver Medallion Award

The E. B. Whitten Silver Medallion Award was established in 1974 in honor of the Association's first Executive Director. The award is presented to an individual who has exercised notable leadership in removing environmental and legal barriers and in helping to overcome discrimination of persons with disabilities.
The E. B. Whitten Silver Medallion Award was established in 1974 in honor of the Association's first Executive Director. The award is presented to an individual who has exercised notable leadership in removing environmental and legal barriers and in helping to overcome discrimination of persons with disabilities.

Criteria: Contribution may be national or local but must have been of such stature to influence action on a regional or national basis. Contributed to the purpose of NRA-enhancing the lives of people with disabilities. Exercised notable leadership: (a) in removing environmental and legal barriers; and (b) in overcoming discrimination which keeps people with disabilities from living normal lives and enjoying the rights and benefits due every American citizen.

NRA Max T. Prince Meritorious Service Award

The NRA Meritorious Service Award is presented to an individual who has demonstrated years of faithful service and leadership to NRA. It is given to a member who has provided outstanding membership effort and leadership for a period of 10 to 15 years, or a member who has demonstrated leadership in chapter, division, and/or national committees for a similar period.

Criteria: Shows outstanding service or leadership in length of service, level of service and quality of NRA. Services need not be national but must be substantial in number. Sustained membership in NRA.

NRA Organizational Award

The NRA Organizational Award is presented to an organization with an outstanding record of service to persons with disabilities. The organization may be one whose principal objectives lie within the field of rehabilitation, or which has demonstrated effective concern for the care, treatment, education r rehabilitation of persons with disabilities.

Criteria: Contribution to well-being or rehabilitation of people with disabilities beyond purpose for which organization was established. Past or present program.

W. F. Faulkes Award

The W. F. Faulkes Award is presented for technical or professional achievement in the field of rehabilitation. It is awarded to a person or organization which in the preceding years has made a contribution of national importance to the increase of knowledge in the field of rehabilitation, or of the development of techniques or methods in the application of such knowledge, or to the prevention of disability. It was established in 1954 in the name of the Association's founder and first president.

Criteria: Contribution of national importance. Increase of knowledge in rehabilitation or development of technique in application of the knowledge or prevention of disabilities.

Belle Greve Memorial Award

The Belle Greve Memorial Award is presented to a person who has shown unusual initiative or creativity in developing and/or administering a service program for people with disabilities. The award is named for Belle Greve, founder of the Cleveland Rehabilitation Center.

Criteria: Developed and/or administered a service program that demonstrated value to people with a disability. Service increased public awareness of issues of people with disabilities.

Excellence in Media Award

The Excellence in Media Award is presented to an individual or organization whose media production has made a noticeable contribution towards the accurate and progressive portrayal of people with disabilities. It is presented in recognition of outstanding effort in any medium, including print, radio, television, film, and advertising.

Criteria: Portrays people with disabilities and their life experiences in a realistic and positive way. Material should appeal to the general public and not merely to a professional or specialized audience. Progressive language and imagery should be used.

Portrayal should exist within the context of more encompassing and significant subject matter. Portrayal should contain informative, and not solely promotional content.

Graduate Literary Award

The Graduate Literary Award is presented annually in recognition of exceptional academic achievement by rehabilitation students at the graduate level.

Criteria: Writer must be enrolled in college/university program preparing to work professionally with people with disabilities. Manuscript of outstanding written quality including spelling, grammar, paragraph/sentence structure, clearly stated purpose and organization of thought. Topic on any aspect of rehabilitation, double spaced on plain 8 1/2 by 11 paper not previously published. A copy of the manuscript must be submitted on a computer disk. NRA publishes winning entries in the Journal of Rehabilitation and reserves the right for one year to publish any paper entered.

Yvonne Johnson National Leadership Award

Presented annually to an individual who is highly committed to issues concerning people with disabilities and to the professionals who serve them. This award was established in 2001 to honor an NRA Past President, a very special person who will always be remembered.

Criteria: Nominees may come from local state, regional or national chapters or divisions. The nominee should demonstrate a leadership style that is creative and inspiring. This person should encourage thinking that is “outside the box."

The leadership style exhibited by the nominee should include a high priority on mentoring. This nominee's involvement in the Association should be reflective of a high commitment to issues concerning people with disabilities and to the professionals who serve them. Examples representative of the specific criteria should be included with the nomination.

Sylvia Walker National Multicultural Award

The Sylvia Walker Award is named after a professor, researcher and director of the first federal Research and Training Center (RTC) focused on minority issues and disability, who served as a long time advocate for multicultural issues in rehabilitation. Established in 2004, the award is intended to (a) honor/recognize a NRA member/group or organization in addressing multicultural issues at the local regional or national level and (b) maintain and stimulate the Association’s (NRA) focus on diversity and multiculturalism as a part of society.

Criteria and Examples: Nominees may come from local, state, regional or national chapters or divisions. Nominee demonstrates a leadership role in advancing multicultural issues within their sphere of influence. Nomination information should include examples of how nominee addresses multicultural issues and their effects (i.e., benefits) on service planning and/or delivery. Information should explain how these actions relate to areas of interest and enhance the profession and/or organization.

NRA Chapter of the Year Award

Outstanding achievement in the effort to advance the mission of the National Rehabilitation Association at the chapter level.

Criteria: A state chapter of the National Rehabilitation Association, in good standing. Demonstrated exemplary activities in professional training; public awareness, consumer advocacy and membership growth. A chapter that has consistently been viewed as innovative, creative and willing to respond to the changing needs of membership.

Employer Award

This award was created to honor an employer (national, regional and/or local) which has demonstrated exemplary achievement in the recruitment, hiring and retention of persons with disabilities throughout all levels within the company.

Examples may include: Routinely utilizes public or private disability agencies to recruit and employ persons with disabilities; seeks guidance on issues of job retention; allows for on-site job shadowing, worksite assessments, participation in return-to-work programs, or other career guidance or job seeking activities.

There will be an award for a Large Employer (100+ employees) and one for a Small Employer (under 100 employees).